Fish-plate for the joints of railroad-rails.



No; 781,040. P-ATBN'TED JAN. 31, 1905.

I L. L. WHITE. FISH PLATE FOR THE JOINTS or RAILROAD RAILS. APPLIUATIOIT FILED MAY 12, 1904.

'qxmm v A jvwewlioz UNITED STATES Patented January 31, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

LEE L. WHITE, 0E TINGIE, ALABAMA, AssIeNoE or ONE-HALF TO WIL- LIAM H. RICHARDSON, SR, OF TINGIE, ALABAMA.

FISH-PLATE FOR THE JOINTS OF RAILROAD-RAILS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 781,040, dated January 31, 1905 Application filed May 12, 1904. Serial No. 207,58fi.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, LEE L. WHITE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Tincie, in the county of Monroe and State of Alabama, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fish-Plates for the Joints of Railroad-Rails, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in splices for the meeting ends of railway-rails,.and is intended to provide a deviceof the character mentioned so constructed that when secured to the rails by means of bolts and nuts it will lock the nuts so employed anddprevent their turning. or becoming 100'sene The invention consists in the several novel features of construction and new combination of parts hereinafter set forth, and specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the fish-plate. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the fish-plate constructed with wedge-faces. Fig. 3 is a perspective View of a rail-joint with the fish-plate attached, and Fig. 4 is a View of a portion of the fishplate when in position to have the nuts turned upon the bolts.

The fish-plate consists of a vertical part a, having at its top and base the flanges Z2 and 0, respectively, and so formed and of such dimension that when fitted to a rail-joint the part a will bear against the webs of the rails, while the flanges Z) and 0 will respectively bear against and conform the one to the under surfaces of the rail-heads and the other to the upper surfaces of the bottom flanges of the joined rails. The upper flange b ofthe fish-plate is so constructed that its under surface projects at right angles to the vertical part a. The distance of its projection may be varied at pleasure, but may be roughly given as half an inch. The lower flange 0 should be of such dimension as to extend slightly beyond the bottom flanges of the rails to which the fish-plate is adjusted to permit itsbeing spiked or otherwise secured to the cross-ties.

Between the vertical part a and the bottom flange 0 is a square shoulder cl, whose upper surface likewise projects at right angles to the vertical part a. The distance between theunder surface of the flange 6 and the upper surface of this shoulder d should be such that ordinary nuts used in securing rail-joints may be placed squarely between them; but they should be so close together that the distance between their opposed surfaces is less than the diagonal dimension of such nuts. As thus constructed it is seen that V a nut once fitted between them cannot be turned either to the right or to the left.

Formed in the vertical part a, equally distant between the flange b and the shoulder (Z, is a series of regularly spaced elongated slots 0 of suflicient width to permit the ordinary bolts used in securing rail joints to pass through them. At points alining with corresponding ends of each of the elongated slots 0 both the flange b and the shoulder d are respectively notched or cut away through their entire width. These notches, which are lettered, respectivelmf and g, are notas broad as the slots e are long. Consequently these slots extend in one direction beyond these notches and between the flange b and the shoulder d and for a distance which should be at least as great as the width of the nut to be employed in forming the rail-joint.

The vertical side or part a of the fish-plate may be flat throughout its entire length, as shown in Fig. 1; but'a preferred construction is to form it in a series of wedge-faces, as shown in Fig. 2, or the thickness of the side may be gradually diminished from one of its ends to the other, thus forming one entire wedge.

When the plate is to be attached to a railjoint, an opposed plate of any ordinary construction is placed against one side of the webs of the abutting rails, and bolts are inserted through this plate and through the rails in the usual manner. adjusted at the opposite side of the rails so that the protruding threaded ends of the bolts will pass through the elongated slots therein immediately between the notches f and g. The nuts c' may then be readily turned upon the bolts as .far as desired. They should not The fish-plate is then 'to one side.

be turned so far, however, as to bind the plate against the rails so that it cannot be driven When the fish-plate is in position and the nuts turned upon the bolts, the nuts should be so adjusted that two sides thereof are in line with the opposed surfaces of the flange b and the shoulder (Z. The plate is then driven to one side, and the nuts are thus brought between the flange b and the shoulder d and effectually locked. If the wedge-shaped fish-plate or the plate formed with wedge-faces is employed, it will when driven to one side be tightly wedged to the rails and will hold them in a most secure manner. When the plate hasbeen forced into engagement with the nuts, it should be fastened to the cross-ties, which may be easily done by means of spikes fitting in the notches in and driven into the ties. The plate cannot then jar out of position. To remove the plate, the method employed in attaching it is simply reversed;

The strength, simplicity, and usefulness of this invention are at once apparent and need not be dwelt upon.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is

i 1. A fish-plate comprising a plate having an upper and a lower flange, and a shoulder disposed between the plate and the lower flange, the plate being provided with a series of elongated slots, and the upper flange and the shoulder being provided with a series of alined notches, substantially as described.

2. A fish-plate comprising a wedge-shaped plate having an upper and a lower flange, and a shoulder disposed between the plate and the lower flange, the plate being provided with a series of elongated slots, and the upper flange and the shoulder being provided with a series of alined notches, substantially as described.

3. A fish-plate comprising a plate formed in a series of wedge-faces and having an upper and a lower flange, and a shoulder disposed between the plate and the lower flange, the plate being provided with a series of elongated slots, and the upper flange and theshoulder being provided with a series of alined notches, substantially as described.

4. In a splice for railway-rails, the combination with rails provided at their meeting ends with openings for the reception of bolts, of a plate disposed on one side of the rails,

bolts passing through said plate and said rails,

a fish-plate, disposed upon the opposite side of said rails, having elongated slots and projecting upper and lower portions provided with a series of alined notches, together with nuts turned upon the threaded ends of the bolts and adapted to be locked between the projecting portions of the fish-plate, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof] have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LEE L. \VIIITE.

Witnesses:

W. P. DENNIS, RoB'r. DENNIS. 

